“Wasting food has become so normal there is now no stigma attached to throwing food away,” Sainsbury‘s chief executive Mike Coupe said.

“People are cost-conscious and making concerted efforts to turn off lights and minimise energy use.

“However, people are still overlooking the much bigger savings that could be delivered by simply throwing away less food, and hopefully our campaign will help people waste less food and save more money.”

This research comes as Sainsbury‘s invests £10 million in its “waste less, save more” campaign in which it will give away one million fried thermometers to customers.